The César Awards ceremony, hosted by Benjamin Lavernhe, drew an average of 1.54 million viewers on Canal+ and Cstar, marking a 20% decrease from last year’s 1.92 million. This represents the second-lowest viewership in the history of the French film awards, surpassed only by a 1.3 million audience in 2022.
César Awards Locate New Life in Social Media Clips
The awards show, which took place on Thursday, February 26, 2026, appears to be finding a new audience through short, shareable moments on social media. The ceremony’s opening, featuring Lavernhe’s tribute to Jim Carrey – complete with a nod to The Mask – has already generated significant buzz. Carrey himself delivered a speech in French, playfully referencing his ancestor, Marc-François Carrey, who emigrated from Saint-Malo to Canada 300 years ago, stating, “la boucle est bouclée” (“the loop is closed”).
Other highlights gaining traction online include Isabelle Adjani’s speech advocating for women, the long-awaited recognition of Franck Dubosc with an award, and Camille Cottin’s political satire. While these moments are likely to garner millions of views on platforms like Instagram, the broader television audience seems to be losing interest in lengthy awards broadcasts. Recent data suggests a wider decline in cinema viewership, potentially contributing to the awards show’s dwindling ratings.
The choice to air the ceremony on a weekday is also being cited as a contributing factor to the low viewership numbers. In 2012, a similar celebration hosted by Antoine de Caunes attracted a much larger audience of 3.9 million viewers, representing a 61% decrease over fourteen years. The shift in how audiences consume entertainment, favoring bite-sized content over lengthy televised events, is a growing trend in the industry.
